A Property Tax Reduction Law Firm
Proud Member of the International Association of Assessing Officers
About Us
Practice Areas
Real Property
Tax
Corporate
Labor & Employment
Admissions
Florida, 1990
U.S. District Court, So.
District of Florida, 1990
U.S. District Court, Middle
District of Florida, 1991
Affiliations
The Florida Bar
Real Property, Probate &
Trust Law Section
Labor & Employment Law
Section
Business Law Section
Entertainment, Arts and
Sports Law Section
American Bar Association
State and Local Taxation Committee (E-2)
International Association of
Assessing Officers
Experience.
A 19 year Member in Good Standing with the Florida Bar, Seth Lubin, Esq. served for more than 11 years as in-house counsel to the late Victor Posner, one of Florida’s most successful, colorful and controversial businessmen. During his tenure, Mr. Lubin reduced the taxable value of Posner’s properties by more than $40 million, using the same techniques and strategies he employs in his practice today for a limited number of clients. Of course, Mr. Lubin’s success with Posner and any other client cannot guarantee your results - each case is unique - so we encourage you to speak to us about your personal situation.
We Cover a Lot of Ground.
Although we are based in South Florida, we have experience reducing property assessments in Florida, New York (including the Hamptons), Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Maryland.
Procedures for tax reductions vary from county to county, let alone state to state. Therefore, it is important to find a firm that can handle many jurisdictions.
A few years ago, I had a matter in front of the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) in Miami-Dade County. I arrived at the hearing a little early and sat in on the hearing for the person who was ahead of me.
The property owner who was presenting his case to the VAB, owned a gorgeous property in Golden Beach, a beautiful, upscale, affluent neighborhood. It's in the north part of the county, right on the ocean. I paid particular attention to this matter because his property was located near my client's.
The Special Magistrate (the "judge" who presides over the Value Adjustment Board hearings) asked, "What kind of evidence do you have that shows that your value should be reduced?" In what seemed like slow-motion, the gentleman reached into his briefcase and carefully produced a list of comparable properties in the area that his friend, a Realtor, had printed out for him. I detected a whiff of smugness about his face.
He handed the report over to the Special Magistrate and the opposing property appraiser. Both parties reviewed the report. The Special Magistrate then asked the appraiser to comment on report.
A funny thing happened.
The property appraiser had nothing to say! Now why do you think that was?
Because the homeowner had actually just made the case easier for the appraiser!
How could this be?
Here's why. When the Special Magistrate looked at the comps, he noticed that a lot of them were actually higher than the subject property on a price per square foot basis, and many of the comps were for the current year, and not the relevant year that the valuation is based upon.
An uneducated move like this allows the property appraiser to make a note to make sure not only that he visits the appealing fellow's property but that, the following year, he would go out and look at the comps closely. So next year, when it's time to make another evaluation, they're going to consider those higher comps again.
In other words, the property owner gave "ammunition" to the appraiser not only to lose his case that year, but perhaps in following years!
Experience Matters.
Seth D. Lubin, P.A.
2625 Weston Road
Weston, FL 33331
(954) 660-3534 (office)
(954) 756-8026 (fax)
info@LubinTaxLaw.com (email)
